On the aprons - Might you have any material that is more camouflage -like? Some browns, greens, etc.?
My thinking here is to blend in better while free-ranging if hawks are around.
I think I want to order some to put on the shelf to have around if needed in the future. Last year I had a bare-backed girl all summer long. Never did anything for her and the feathers grew back in after molt time. But it may have been nice to have as a sun-shield so she didn't get sunburned!
A little bit of teasing below:
Sunburned? I am picturing the skin looking like oven roasted. I vote for a nice bright green with a daisy or two on it. Maybe even a 3D kind of daisy so it looks more like a flower blowing in the wind. A crafty pipe cleaner thing with a fake flower on top would do nicely. If no camouflage them maybe a reflective material as I have read hawks don't care for mirrors or flashy things.
I have an auto door but I check every night to be sure they all got in.
It's great for letting them out in the morning as I have to go to work before sunup. BUT....at night I always check to be sure everyone is in and that the door has shut.
Case in point:
Tonight when I went out to check on them, the electricity had disconnected by mistake. Just a loose connection but if I hadn't gone out the door would not have gotten closed and they would have been open to predation.
There have been other nights when for one reason or another, I had a stray bird or 2 not get in. Usually all is well and they are all in. But I encourage folks to always check. If someone gets stuck outside they are easy prey.
I agree we check our run every night too. But it helps that we can see the run from a window in our house. Of course the chickens would not even exit the coop on the cold days ~ the days I wanted to sit inside and watch them from the window.
